emotions of
pleasure. So much may occur in the brief space of a few months, that a
seal must ever be broken with feelings of great anxiety.

(*Footnote. I well remember the sensations I experienced on first seeing
a sail after an interval of nine months, and that wholly spent on the
storm-beaten shores of South-western Tierra Del Fuego. J.L.S.)

PORT ESSINGTON.

We too had our share of news to be made acquainted with. Captain Stanley
had been on a most interesting cruise to the Arru Islands, the deeply
interesting narrative of which expedition the reader will peruse, we are
sure, with unqualified satisfaction, in a later section of the present
work. This meeting gave me real pleasure, though with regret I saw that
he had been much harassed. Lieutenant P.B. Stewart,* of the Alligator,
had also made a journey over the Peninsula, to which I shall presently
further allude.

(*Footnote. Since promoted for services in China; he also served in the
Beagle during her last expedition.)

We were of course extremely anxious to visit the settlement. Landing at
the jetty, which we found a very creditable piece of workmanship erected
under the direction of Lieutenant P.B. Stewart, we ascended the cliff,
and on gaining the summit, found ourselves on a small piece of tableland
partially cleared. Seen through the trees, the dwellings of the settlers
had an air of neatness, pleasing to the eye. Among the other buildings in
progress was the church, which, planted as it was on the northern shores
of the Australian continent, was expected to form a nucleus from which
offshoots might by degrees draw within its influence the islands in the
Arafura Sea, and thus widely spread the pure blessings of Christianity.
It is highly characteristic of our countrymen, that where with other
nations, the tavern, the theatre, the dancing-house, are among the
earliest buildings in a new settlement, with us everywhere the church is
first thought of. In few corners of the world, where English influence
has extended itself, is this otherwise than true, and it is a highly
enviable distinction. It seems, indeed, that wherever the flag of Britain
floats, there is made known the Word of God in its purity; and as an
empire has been vouchsafed us on which the sun never sets, the extent of
our influence for good in this respect is incalculable. We may venture to
express our sincere hope, that our country will ever continue to enjoy
this noble supremacy.

At the